LEC052026 Jyothis Cyriac - Critical Analysis of Lear's Madness in King Lear.

 Critical Analysis of Lear's Madness in King Lear

    King Lear is the play by the greatest writer of all time, William Shakespeare which depicted the tragedy of the old king Lear. In this play, Shakespeare presents the strongest passions by which man can be agitated. One of the key motifs used in this play is madness. Through the portrayal of various levels and kinds of madness, Shakespeare asserts that there is no human emotion stronger and more powerful than the passion of madness. There is actual madness of King Lear and feigned madness of Edgar. The madness of King Lear plays a vital role in the overall plot and theme of the play. This essay is an attempt to delineate the critical significance of Lear’s madness.

    We find King Lear step by step driven into a mad frenzy state. Though in the opening scenes itself the symptoms of Lear’s madness is visible, later the mental shock of his daughters disobedience and the physical shock of the storm completely unhinges the mind of Lear. The unnecessary test of love of his daughters and the banishment of his dearest daughter Cordelia and the faithful servant Kent in the beginning of the play are clearly the acts of an abnormal person. In the heath scene of the play his madness reaches its maximum height and in the later acts of the play, there is a gradual subsidence of insanity. We find a certain arch- like progress in the passion of Lear. In the heath scenes the passion of Lear reaches the point of raving and gradually thereafter weakens into a softness of brain. Filial ingratitude, restlessness, and the intolerable nature etc., are the major reasons for his madness. Lear himself is aware about his changing mindset. The old king pathetically tries to keep himself in temper: He pleads with sweet Heaven to keep him from madness-

        “O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet Heaven:

        Keep me in temper; I would not be mad.” (Act 3)

    In the act 3 of the play, at the peak of madness Lear rages at the storm, calling for universal destruction. The sight of poor Tom invokes a sense of sympathy for those less fortunate than himself. ‘Poor naked wretches’, Lear’s ‘mad’ companions, the Fool and Poor Tom, deepen the sense of his decline to insanity. He throws away his clothes and hallucinates about devilish spirits. The point to remember is that madness actually acted as a shield for the old man that protected him from the complete loss of sense. In the end of the play, Lear reaches in a state of realization of his mistakes and it can be interpreted as a kind of sublime experience.  

        “Throughout his career, Shakespeare explored various forms madness in his           plays. He seems to have been                particularly interested in madness as         an agent of beneficial change. The suffering of mental disturbance could                 transform      character’s views of themselves and others.” ( Bain, Smith, Morris         224)

     This observation is hundred percent true in the case of King Lear. The Lear that we meet in the beginning of the play is not the Lear that we come across in the climax of the play. His attitude and vision undergoes drastic changes and Lear becomes a refined person through bitter experiences. He has learnt his truth; he has also learnt patience, which he teaches Glouchester - “Thou must be patient. We came crying hither. “ ( Act 4, scene 6).

    The madness caused by natural means is also worth notable. In the heath scene, the physical storm represents the furious mindset of King Lear itself. It is true that King Lear has always been acknowledged as the most painful of Shakespeare’s tragedies. That is why there have been a number of attempts from critics to edit the storyline and climax of the play. The madness of Lear has played its role perfectly to increase the emotions. The audience feel sympathy towards Lear even though he acted unwisely and was cruel to the ones who loved him. 

    Another key thing to remember is that Shakespeare presents a corrupt society as the backdrop of this play; A society where the values of civilisation is no more exists. In such a situation nothing can be expected except insanity and abnormality. The critic Keneth Muir briefly describes this idea: 

        The madness of the elements, the professional madness of the fool, the feigned         madness of Edgar, and the feigned madness of king himself together exemplify         the break- up of society and the threat to the universe under the impact of                 ingratitude and treachery. (Muir 35).

    In short, Shakespeare successfully used the technique of madness to present the theme of the play more appealing to audience and particularly Lear's madness has the significant role in the overall depiction of the theme.

Works Cited

Bain, Smith, Morris, Elspeth Bain, Rob Smith, Jonathan Morris. King Lear.     Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009,     books.google.co.in/books?id=jwMCXhufYH0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&    q&f=false.

Muir, Kenneth. “Madness in King Lear.” Shakespeare Survey, edited by Allardyce     Nicoll, vol. 13, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1960, pp. 30–40.     Shakespeare Survey.